Ramzan is a special time for actor Taher Shabbir, not only because of the festivities but because it gives him the opportunity to give back through his restaurant in Mumbai. As we reach there at midnight, the place is jam-packed and Taher Shabbir is just busy going at every table and making sure every customer is well-fed as he treats them all like family.
As we ask him about this holy month’s influence on him, the actor says, “Ramzan means the world to me as spiritually, it keeps you grounded. People think the rozas are for only one month, but it actually makes you inculcate a habit of being good and kind through the year. You don’t say or see anything bad, and you are trying to the be the best version of yourself.”
Taher is like a completely different person at his restaurant, just dedicated to serving the people that have come with not only food, but warmth and love as well. “Since I was six, my father would bring me and my brother here to do seva. We would be the waiter and it was all about giving and taking blessings for that. At that young age, it was about giving food, but as I grew up, I realised my father’s intention was never about just feeding people, it was about selling sweetness and making people happy,” he shares.
The actor adds, “Mere abba mithai nahi mithaas baat rahe the, wo khushiyan baat rahe the. And Ramzan is the beginning of the year for me to start believing in that again and keep at it for the rest of the year. Even after being in the film industry for so many years, I just can’t seem to leave this part of me behind.”
As the customers gather around him to take pictures, Taher acknowledges each and every request. Ask him if it feels gratifying getting to interact with them personally and he says, “Honestly, when people come and click photos with me, it is not as gratifying as when I get to feed them and see the happiness in their eyes. Even as an actor, the fame was never my game, all I want is to make people happy.” Taher adds that his father had seen a lot of trouble and after he passed away, his lookout towards his family business changed. “After we lost him, me and my brother made it a mission that his legacy of spreading happiness keeps going.”
As he feeds so many people, does he enjoy cooki
ng too during Ramzan? “What many people don’t know is that I have been a president scout. So, I used to cook for 200-300 scouts every day at camp. But when I am at home, I like to relax. And not only me, I also don’t follow the gender stereotypes. I have this rule that a woman at our home will go into the kitchen only when the man is going too,” he responds, sharing some of his favourite delicacies during Ramzan: “I really enjoy bheja gurda, naan chaap sandwich, chicken cheese baida roti. I also love Nihari and Bawda, and the Nihari recipe that we have is my friend (actor) Dia Mirza approved. During Ramzan, I am only eating malpua, dipping it in malai and rabri. I also have two types of phirni I love—the classic rose one and the kesar phirni. There is also malai khaja.”
Taher feels festivals are all about unity and community, and he insists that it shouldn’t be restricted to just one section. “Ramzan is as much of Hindus as it is for Muslims, and similarly Diwali is as much of Muslims as it is for Hindus. I love the unity that festivals bring, and I feel that should never get divided on the basis of religion, caste or creed. Let’s love each other like no generation before us has loved and make the biggest change that India will ever see,” he ends.